Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2011-12: Mitch Marner attended the Hill Academy in Ontario, skating in the club’s varsity program, and played for the Vaughan Kings minor midget AAA team as a 14-year-old.

2012-13: Marner played junior A hockey late in the year, skating for the St. Michael’s Buzzers, and was one of the top scorers for the Don Mills Flyers in the Greater Toronto midget minor league. He scored 1 goal with 3 assists in six regular season games with the Buzzers. St. Michael’s captured the OJHL playoff title and reached the championship game of the Dudley Hewitt Cup, missing out on a chance to compete in the RBC Cup after a 4-3 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wilderness. Marner scored 3 goals with 1 assist in 14 OJHL playoff games and was scoreless in five games at the Dudley Hewitt Cup. He scored 41 goals with 45 assists and 34 penalty minutes in 55 midget minor games for Don Mills. Marner was selected by London in the first round (19th overall) in the 2013 OHL Priority Draft.

2013-14: Marner made his OHL debut as a 16-year-old — skating in 64 of 68 regular season games for the London Knights — and played for Canada Ontario in the 2014 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 13 goals with 46 assists and was +38 with 24 penalty minutes as London finished third in the Midwest Division. The Knights reached the second round in the OHL playoffs and participated in the Memorial Cup as the host team. Marner scored 3 goals with 6 assists and was +3 with 4 penalty minutes in nine OHL playoff games and was an even plus/minus with 1 assist and 2 penalty minutes in three Memorial Cup games.

2014-15: Marner was the OHL’s second-leading scorer in his second season with London behind Erie’s Dylan Strome, a teammate of Marner’s on the gold medal-winning Canada U18 team at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. An assistant captain for the Knights, he scored 44 goals with 82 assists, two behind Strome for the OHL lead, and was +36 with 53 penalty minutes in 63 games. London finished second in the Midwest Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Marner scored 9 goals with 7 assists and was +6 with 8 penalty minutes in seven playoff games, missing the final two games against Erie with an upper-body injury. He scored 2 goals with 5 assists and was +5 with 6 penalty minutes in five games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament as Canada captured a gold medal, defeating the Czech Republic, 6-2, in the gold medal game. Marner skated for Team Cherry in the CHL Top Prospects game. He was ranked sixth amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings prior to the 2014 NHL Draft. He was selected by Toronto in the first round (4th overall) and signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs in July 2015.

2015-16: Marner was one of the top scorers in major junior hockey skating for the Memorial Cup champion London Knights and played for Canada in the 2016 World Junior Championship. Playing on a dominant line with Arizona prospect Christian Dvorak and 2017 draft-eligible winger Matt Tkachuk, he was second to Dvorak in scoring during the regular season with 39 goals and 77 assists (tying Tkachuk for the team lead) in 57 regular season games. London finished second to Erie in the Midwest Division before rolling through the playoffs, sweeping Niagara in the finals to reach the Memorial Cup. Marner scored 16 goals with 28 assists and was +30 with 8 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games. The Knights rolled through the round-robin portion of the Memorial Cup and defeated QMJHL champion Rouyn-Noranda, 3-2 in overtime in the championship game. Marner led all scorers with 14 points, third-most in Memorial Cup history. scoring 2 goals with 12 assists and finishing +10 with 4 penalty minutes in four games. He scored 4 goals with 2 assists and had an even plus/minus with 4 penalty minutes in five games for Canada at the WJC. Canada finished sixth, falling to champion Finland, 6-5, in the quarterfinals.

Talent Analysis

Marner is a dynamic, small forward who dominated at the major junior level during the London Knights' Memorial Cup run in 2015-16. An opportunistic scorer and excellent playmaker with the vision and stick and passing skills to create chances, he plays a high octane game. Marner's lack of bulk is a concern but he compares favorably with other undersized forwards such as Patrick Kane or fellow Leafs' prospect William Nylander.

Future

Marner dominated major junior hockey in 2015-16 playing on a line with center Christian Dvorak (ARI) and left wing Matthew Tkachuk for the Memorial Cup champion London Knights. He also played for Canada at the 2016 World Juniors. Dvorak will look to crack the Maple Leafs' lineup in training camp but at 19-years-old is too young to play in the AHL, so he would have to return to the Knights in 2016-17 if he does not stick with the NHL club. Marner's offensive skill set and playmaking ability suggest he can be a consistent scorer and top line forward one day.

Photo: London Knights forward and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitch Marner (L) produced 16 goals and 44 points in 18 postseason games in the Knights’ run to a Memorial Cup championship (courtesy of Rob Wallator/CHL Images)

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Photo: London Knights forward Christian Dvorak (R) begins the celebration after Matthew Tkachuk’s goal in overtime gave the Knights a 3-2 victory over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies at the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Red Deer, AB (courtesy of Codie McLachlan/Getty Images)

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Photo: London Knights forward and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitch Marner is currently the leading scorer at the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup Tournament, posting 13 points in just three games (courtesy of Rob Wallator/CHL Images)

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Photo: London Knights forwards Christian Dvorak (#10) and Mitch Marner (#93) along with linemate Matthew Tkachuk continued their offensive tear in the opening game of the 2016 MasterCard Memorial Cup tournament (courtesy of Rob Wallator/CHL Images)

That isn’t an opinion, it is fact. And they have the numbers to back it up: the linemates combined for 129 points in just 18 OHL playoff games, and each player topped 100 points in the regular season. Read more»